


the water's rough (but this love is ours)

by lesmiserablol



Series: fics where sokka has chronic pain [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Sokka (Avatar), Chronic Pain, Established Relationship, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27388627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “Come on, let’s go to bed.”“You go on, I’ll be right there,” Sokka insists, and Zuko raises his eyebrow.“Nice try. We both know how that will end,” he says, tugging on Sokka’s hand, who sighs in resignation and puts his letter to the side. Zuko is slightly surprised at how easily he gave in, but once Sokka stands up, favoring his right side, he understands.“Your leg is hurting.”(or, Sokka has chronic pain, but he also has an amazing boyfriend)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: fics where sokka has chronic pain [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036362
Comments: 74
Kudos: 619





	the water's rough (but this love is ours)

**Author's Note:**

> me: *tries to write my big bang fic*  
> chronic wrist pain: hey :)  
> me: *uses talk to text to write another chronic pain fic*
> 
> I wrote this to fit in the same universe as one of my other Sokka with chronic pain fics [old and new dreams](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26153098), but reading that is not necessary to understand this one. Once again, I am largely drawing on my personal experiences here, they are not universal. Enjoy Sokka being taken care of by his sweet boyfriend <3

Zuko is not surprised in the slightest when he sees the light peeking through the cracks of the door to Sokka’s study, and he shakes his head fondly as he knocks.

“Come in.”

Zuko pushes the door open and closes it behind him, taking in the sight of his boyfriend. He has a brush in his right hand, hovering over some parchment, with his left elbow propped on the table and his head leaning on that hand. He blinks his eyes a few times as he looks up at Zuko, giving him a small smile.

“Hey, you,” he says, stifling a yawn. “It's late, why are you still awake?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Zuko says pointedly. “I figured you would still be working and came to say goodnight.”

Sokka’s expression softens even more. “You came to say goodnight, or you came to kiss me goodnight?”

Zuko shrugs nonchalantly, walking over to him and leaning against the desk. “I mean, if you want me to kiss you, I can arrange that.”

Sokka laughs at that, and he shakes out his right hand and switches to start writing with the left without a problem. 

“Show off,” Zuko mutters, earning another laugh from his boyfriend. “What are you working on?”

“Writing to dad about a new idea I had for the Southern Reconstruction Project, I was inspired by some structures we saw in the Earth Kingdom last week, and so I took some notes…”

Sokka talks animatedly as he shares his ideas, showing Zuko his “notes” (they look more like complex diagrams than simple notes) and Zuko has no idea what anything means, but he nods as Sokka explains anyway and tries not to get distracted by the look in his eyes or the way he is talking with his hands, the one still holding the brush spraying a bit of ink. A few drops get on his face and as Sokka’s explanations start to wind down Zuko reaches a hand out to cup his cheek, his thumb brushing the flecks of ink away. Sokka falls silent almost immediately, leaning into the touch, one hand reaching up to grab Zuko’s wrist and hold his hand there. 

“So do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Mmm?” Zuko asks, distracted. “Oh. Yes. I think it’s great.”

Sokka gives him a knowing look, and Zuko laughs softly. “Okay, maybe I didn’t understand it all, but I know _you_ so therefore, I know it’ll be great.”

Sokka laughs, his thumb rubbing circles on Zuko’s wrist. “Thank you.”

“I also know that this is something that can wait until tomorrow morning,” Zuko adds pointedly, his hand moving away from Sokka’s face to intertwine their fingers. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

“You go on, I’ll be right there,” Sokka insists, and Zuko raises his eyebrow. 

“Nice try. We both know how that will end,” he says, tugging on Sokka’s hand, who sighs in resignation and puts his letter to the side. Zuko is slightly surprised at how easily he gave in, but once Sokka stands up, favoring his right side, he understands. 

“Your leg is hurting.” It’s not a question, he knows Sokka inside and out. If he had been more awake, maybe he would’ve noticed how Sokka’s forehead was creased, how his fingers were gripping everything tighter than usual, the slight tension in his voice. 

The look Sokka gives him is almost remorseful. Sokka has always been one to hide his emotions and put up a façade, even with his pain. That is something that he has been working on and Zuko has been trying to help him with, but there are still times when he chooses silence over vulnerability. While some days Sokka will seek him out or tell him at the beginning of their conversation that he is having a bad day with his leg, other days he tries to hide it. Zuko always picks up on it, and Sokka usually feels guilty for not being honest, but hearing his tone when he apologizes to Zuko on these occasions tugs at his heart. Sokka shouldn’t feel like he should apologize when Zuko knows how much pain he is already in on a regular basis. 

Zuko shakes his head before he can speak. “Hey, you don’t need to apologize. Let’s get you to bed.”

Sokka grips Zuko’s hand tight enough to be painful as they make the short trip to their bed, but Zuko doesn’t flinch or complain. He patiently stays by Sokka’s side as they walk slower than normal through the palace hallways and to Sokka’s room. Sokka is quiet, for once, so Zuko talks. He talks about his meeting with the Earth Kingdom Ambassadors, about spending some of his day walking through the gardens, about missing Sokka as he was in his own meetings and dealing with his other responsibilities as Ambassador.

They enter the room and immediately Zuko eases Sokka onto the bed and helps him dress for sleep, being gentle with his left leg. Sokka slowly lies down and stretches the leg out, grimacing. After a few moments, his face starts to relax, and he pats the space next to him invitingly. 

“Come on, hot stuff, you can’t just stare at me all night,” he mutters, and Zuko snorts out a laugh instead of saying something cheesy like _"What if I want to?"_

“One second.” Zuko disappears into the bathroom and successfully finds the jar, bringing it back out and sitting on the edge of the bed next to Sokka’s calf. 

“What’s that?” Sokka asks, peeking an eye open. 

“It’s something I asked a friend of Uncle’s to send me. He made this salve out of a blend of different plants that is supposed to be helpful for pain like yours. I only just got it this week, but I’ve been waiting to tell you until it came up.”

“Yes, well, you knew you wouldn’t have to wait long,” Sokka says, his tone slightly bitter. His fists are clenched so instead of grabbing his hand, Zuko rests his palm on Sokka’s leg in a comforting gesture, focusing some heat there as he does. 

“Sorry,” Sokka mumbles after a few moments, “That wasn’t- it’s nothing you did. I’m just...so  _ tired _ , sometimes. I’ve been so excited about these new plans, but it’s also been stressful coming back from the Earth Kingdom and catching up on everything. I figured I could just power through it all but the more stressed I get the more my leg hurts, and the more my leg hurts the more distracted I am and that stresses me out even more. It’s an endless cycle.”

“Sounds pretty miserable,” Zuko sighs, moving his hand to unscrew the lid of the jar. He dips two fingers into the creamy substance and starts to apply it to Sokka’s leg, knowing exactly which spots are the most troublesome. As he rubs the salve in, he makes sure to massage it carefully with a bit of controlled heat, and after a few moments, Sokka lets out a happy sigh. 

“It is, but moments like these make it less miserable.”

“I’m glad this stuff helps.”

“I wasn’t talking about that, Zuko, although it is pretty great. I meant you, _you_ make me less miserable. Even though some days I want to scream or pout or cry because I’m in pain and it’s been  _ four years _ , you’re always there, you’re never alarmed or annoyed with me no matter how many times we go through this. I love you for that.”

Zuko feels his eyes water as he looks up to Sokka’s soft smile. “I love you, too,” he says quietly. 

A comfortable silence hangs over them as Zuko finishes applying more salve. He puts the jar away and pats the skin dry of any remaining moisture with a towel. 

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks, standing as Sokka gets more comfortable in the bed.

He knows the answer, they’ve been sharing a bed nearly every night since they started dating just a month prior, but he still wants to check. He wants Sokka to have some space if that’s what will help him, but if not, he will gladly stick by his side. 

In response, Sokka just grabs him by the wrist and pulls him close before grabbing him by the front of his robes and tugging his face down to give him a small kiss on the lips. “Stay with me?”

Zuko nods and undresses before he walks to the other side to crawl in under the sheets, moving to tuck himself into Sokka’s side and rest his head on his chest, an arm around his waist. Sokka puts his arm around Zuko’s shoulders in return, and soon they are both asleep, the pain fading to the background and being replaced by an overwhelming sense of peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> [tumblr](http://www.bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com)


End file.
